The ombudsman is charged with accepting and investigating complaints by the public about any action or inaction by any officer or employee of an executive agency of the State and county governments; recommending solutions for valid complaints; and suggesting amendments to rules, regulations, or statutes. During fiscal year 2003-04, the office received 5,295 inquiries. Of these, approximately 73 percent were complaints within the office's jurisdiction. This was a 14-percent decrease in inquiries from the previous fiscal year. Most of the reduction in jurisdictional complaints was due to the decrease in prison-related complaints, which declined by 19.4 percent. Outreach efforts during the year focused on the small business community, as small business owners were given an opportunity to meet with government agencies and private business counselors to discuss government regulations that affect their businesses. Statistical tables indicate the number and types of inquiries, the means by which inquiries were received, the distribution of population and inquirers by residence, the means of receipt of inquiries by residence, the distribution and disposition of jurisdictional complaints by agency, the distribution and disposition of substantiated jurisdictional complaints by agency, the distribution of information requests, and the distribution of non-jurisdictional complaints. Eight case summaries are presented. Each case summary is listed under the State government department or the county government involved in the complaint or inquiry. 10 tables